Air Force, EFCC Clash, CSO Calls For Unity, Protection Of Nigeria’s Image

 

Air Force, EFCC Clash, CSO Calls For Unity, Protection Of Nigeria’s Image. 

A civil society organisation has expressed displeasure over the recent clash between some officers of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and Nigerian Air Force (NAF) personnel in Kaduna, citing the importance of protecting Nigeria’s image at all costs.

The CSO, Close Watch, called for serious cohesion between government institutions and stressed the need for them to work in unison, especially in resolving contentious issues.

The group noted that whatever the issue was that caused the public display of confrontation between EFCC officers and NAF personnel in Kaduna could have been nipped in the bud.

According to a press statement by the National Coordinator of Close Watch, Biodun Odele, made available to journalists in Abuja, the CSO campaigned that such incidents should never be allowed to degenerate into a public spat in the interest of the country’s image.

The group further judged the present Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, as a strict adherent to ethics who will never tolerate disorderly behaviour by his personnel.

The statement, however, said the EFCC should have engaged the leadership of the NAF in Kaduna and if that failed, reached out to the NAF leadership at their headquarters in Abuja rather than seeking public sympathy even before the matter is thoroughly investigated.

According to the group, EFCC and the NAF are both government institutions with key roles to play in the security architecture of our country; hence, they should not subject each other to any form of embarrassment.

“The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, will never condone any disorderly conduct, both in private and public, by his personnel. He frowns at behaviours that tend to embarrass the service and the government as a whole.

“We urge government agencies to work harmoniously, especially as the country is passing through security challenges,” the statement, in part, said.